Mt. Moon, located between Cerulean City and Ni Bi City, was originally an unknown mountain, but one day, someone discovered the existence of a moon stone on Mt. Moon, and thus Mt. Moon became famous overnight.
Compared to other ite, moon stone is not considered too rare, but that is only in comparison to other ite.
As for a single moon stone, even one of extremely poor quality can sell for at least tens of thousands of yuan, while a high-quality moon stone is an invaluable treasure.
Pokémon have different aptitudes, and generally speaking, a Pokémon's aptitude is very difficult to change, but nothing is absolute. There is a magical phenomenon in Pokémon called evolution, and after a Pokémon evolves, there is a small chance for it to change its own aptitude.
Some Pokémon can evolve after reaching a certain level, while others require special methods to evolve, such as using an ite.
The higher the quality of the ite, the higher the level the Pokémon will reach after evolving, and high-quality ite also has a considerable chance of changing the Pokémon's aptitude, making it better.
"...However, all of the above are just rumors. A Pokémon's aptitude is generally difficult to see with the naked eye and requires specialized equipment for detection. But such a detection costs tens of thousands of yuan each time, and people who are not from wealthy families simply wouldn't do such a thing," Brock said seriously, walking on the mountain path of Mt. Moon.
Hearing this, Ash's mouth slightly opened, and his face showed some surprise: "Eh, does it really cost that much to Detect a Pokémon's aptitude once?"
"Of course. In reality, the cost of detecting aptitude isn't high, but if a Pokémon's aptitude could be easily Detected, then who knows how many Trainers in the world would directly go to Detect aptitude after catching a Pokémon, and once they found the aptitude wasn't good, they would release and abandon the Pokémon. This kind of behavior is inhumane and not allowed by the Alliance."
"So, by increasing the cost of detecting a Pokémon's aptitude, people can't easily Detect it. This way, people who want to catch a bunch of Pokémon, Detect their aptitudes, and then keep the best ones, won't be able to use such methods."
Xiao Xia also explained to Ash why it is so expensive to Detect a Pokémon's aptitude.
It's not that detecting aptitude requires a lot of materials leading to high costs, but rather that it's deliberately priced this way to deter many people and make them give up the idea of detecting a Pokémon's aptitude.
"But... if they don't want people to Detect a Pokémon's aptitude, wouldn't it have been better not to develop such a thing in the first place?" Ash asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Who knows? Perhaps it was developed unintentionally," Xiao Xia shrugged, indicating that she wasn't sure why either.
As the three chatted and went deeper into Mt. Moon, the path through Mt. Moon was not short, and since they had to go deep into the cave, time unknowingly passed until evening. Just after the three finished dinner, a cute and playful pink Pokémon suddenly appeared in front of them: "Clefairy~~"
When Xiao Xia saw the pink Pokémon, her eyes instantly sparkled: "It's a Clefairy! Mt. Moon really does have Clefairy!"
According to rumors, besides moon stone, Mt. Moon also has Clefairy. Clefairy is a relatively rare Pokémon. Although it's not very strong, it's very cute and is liked by many female Trainers, including Xiao Xia.
When Xiao Xia set out, she intended to only catch Water-type Pokémon, but when she saw the Clefairy, she suddenly felt that catching a Clefairy would actually be quite nice.
"So this is a Clefairy, huh? It looks pretty cute," Ash said, taking out his Pokémon Pokedex to scan the Clefairy.
The Insight Eye can Detect a Pokémon's aptitude, but it cannot provide a general introduction to the Pokémon or Detect its attributes. For these aspects, one still needs to rely on the Pokémon Pokedex. If it were a complete Insight Eye, then perhaps the Pokémon Pokedex would not be needed.
["Clefairy: Because of its very lovable appearance, it is very popular as a pet, but it is not easy to find, and it is rumored that it is a Pokémon from the moon."]
"Eh, a Pokémon from the moon? Is that true or false?" Ash put away his Pokémon Pokedex and said with a surprised expression.
Clefairy is rare, but saying they came from the moon is a bit outrageous, isn't it?
"There is such a rumor, but it's a bit difficult to verify," Brock nodded, indicating that it was indeed true.
"Why? Can't current technology land on the moon?" Ash squatted in front of the Clefairy and curiously poked it. This wild Clefairy didn't seem to fear Ash; instead, it smiled, amused by Ash's finger, and its body swayed slightly from side to side to show friendliness.
"Yes, current technology is not yet sufficient for humans to land on the moon... That's not quite right either. In terms of technology, it's already enough for humans to go into outer space, but once they break through the ozone layer, they seem to be inexplicably blocked. So, to this day, humans have not been able to break out of Earth."
Breaking through the ozone layer... Ash pondered for a moment, then said with a serious expression: "What is the ozone layer?"
That one sentence almost made Brock and Xiao Xia fall to the ground. Sometimes Ash seemed to know a lot of things, but other times he would be so ignorant about common sense that it was frustrating.
"These are aerospace knowledge, and I'm not particularly clear about them either. In short, you can understand the ozone layer as a protective shield that prevents us from being scorched by the sun. Besides, now is not the time to focus on that, is it? It's rare to encounter a Clefairy, don't you all want to catch her? If you don't catch her soon, she'll leave."
Ash, who was listening intently to Brock's explanation, and Xiao Xia, who had a helpless expression, quickly turned their heads and saw the Clefairy hopping and skipping into the depths of Mt. Moon, clutching a sparkling transparent stone.
"Wait, Clefairy!" Xiao Xia shouted as she ran towards the Clefairy. Suddenly, three figures appeared in front of the Clefairy before them, and then a large net instantly enveloped the Clefairy, along with the ore in her hand.
"What's going on!?" Ash and the other two stopped, looking somewhat bewildered at the Clefairy caught in the net.
At this moment, a spotlight suddenly appeared in the dim Mt. Moon cave, revealing the three somewhat indistinct figures to everyone.
"Since you asked so sincerely!"
"We will tell you with great mercy!"
"..."
As the opening lines began, Ash and Xiao Xia also widened their eyes, looking at the three with some disbelief.
"Team Rockets! How did you three get here!" The former shouted out the names of the three—Team Rockets!
That's right, the ones who appeared before Ash and the others were none other than the Team Rockets trio: Jessie, James, and Meowth